L.A. blogger sentenced for Guns N' Roses leak

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Axl Rose of the Guns N'Roses performs on stage during the "Rock in Rio 3" music festival in Rio de Janeiro, late January 14, 2001. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Los Angeles blogger who leaked new Guns N’ Roses songs on the Internet before their official release on the band’s first new album in 17 years, was sentenced to two months of home confinement on Tuesday.

Kevin Cogill also received one year’s probation and must appear in an anti-piracy commercial under the terms of his plea deal with federal prosecutors.

He pleaded guilty last December to a single misdemeanor count of violating federal copyright laws, and agreed to help authorities identify the original source of the leak.

Cogill posted nine tracks from the Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" onto the Web site antiquiet.com (www.antiquiet.com) five months before the CD came out last November. The tracks were widely circulated, diminishing some of the anticipation surrounding the long-awaited album, which was a disappointing seller.

Cogill’s public-service announcement for the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group for the major U.S. music labels, is expected to air during the music industry’s Grammy Awards on January 31.

Cogill had faced a maximum of one year in federal prison, a $100,000 fine and five years’ probation. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul L. Abrams said there was no profit motive, the tracks were posted on the blog for a short period, and his cooperation proved useful.

A U.S. Dept. of Justice spokesman said the government was still investigating the original source of the tracks.